Undress and Possess
by The-Other-Ghostwriter
Summary: Gift fic request for Cliscia. Danny Phantom has become unruly and wild with his power, like a feral creature. Skulker is an expert in breaking feral creatures...in one way or another. Non-con, pet play, you've been warned.
1. Prologue

**A gift request for Cliscia, who was wonderfully kind enough to do fanart from my story 'Mastery'. Hope you like it, Cliscia!**

**Title inspired by the Lords of Acid song, Undress and Possess.**

* * *

If it was possible for a ghost to be anymore miserable than they already were being DEAD and all, then Skulker was SURE he had hit that low point very few managed to sink to.

Normally, he didnt care about the whole being dead thing. Sure, he didnt have a real body to call his own and he had to schedule weekly visits to his perverted mechanic Technus, but on the whole, death wasnt so bad. He had a strong, fit mechanical body he possessed (that functioned PERFECTLY in every aspect, thank GOD), his own home on his own island, had good benefits from working for the elder halfa Plasmius, and a girlfriend.

The problem?

All in one.

Danny-FUCKING-Phantom.

Just THINKING about the younger halfa put his metal teeth on edge in ways nothing else could. He HATED the arrogant little brat with every nut and bolt in his body, and the only thing keeping him sane was the thought of that day when he would finally have his divine retribution, when he would get the reparation he was due.

As the years ticked by, however, the sanity seemed to slip even more as Phantom grew stronger.

It was only natural that as the arrogant pissant grew older, he would get stronger. But the rate at which it happened was fucked RIDICULOUS. At age sixteen, he was already close to being right on par with Plasmius; and Skulker knew that it was because Phantom had mentors in the Far Frozen to help hone his skills with his ecto-ice.

The boost in power only seemed to give the boy a boost in ego, and every ghost that crossed the border into Amity Park felt that ego hit them like a five-alarm bitch, whether they were friend or foe.

It was a power play, Skulker knew all too well. Ghosts constantly had power play in the Ghost Zone, always squabbling in territorial pissing matches over land or quadrants. New ghosts who felt they were entitled to that area were always trying to usurp from the current 'owners'. And like those ghosts, Phantom had claimed Amity Park as his own domain, imbibing in the basic ghostly instinct to defend his territory from any and all intruders.

At first, it was a game to Skulker. It was fun to watch the brat get his arrogant greenhorn ass handed to him by older, seasoned ghosts, ESPECIALLY Plasmius. But in the past couple of years, the game began to shift into a one-sided farce that left many ghosts looking for a challenge or some fun leaking ectoplasm from one of the boy's rabid defense attacks.

As Plasmius put it once, 'Ghost instinct and teenage testosterone do NOT mix'. And he was right. The boy's cocky attitude and heroics had turned into avaricious, mad-dog tactics that left many of Skulker's friends and associates scarred in more ways than one.

Which came right back around to Skulker's current demeanor. He was absolutely MISERABLE.

And it was all thanks to the thrice-damned halfa.

He felt his chance to capture Phantom had passed; he should have been dead serious when the boy was fourteen and fresh to his new powers instead of playing cat-and-mouse. Now two years later, his prey had become almost too deadly to pursue, let alone touch. He was too feral, too free.

And it put him on edge in ways that shouldnt.

He was a HUNTER, for the love of the gods. A feral beast shouldnt bother him in the least. He recalled being alive and taming adult wolves as PETS. For FUN. But wolves didnt have deadly ice powers and a voice that could level buildings if given reason to.

...on the other hand, wolves had teeth and claws. Weapons are weapons, were they not? And animal is as animal does. Skulker had long ago cast aside the territorial instinct most ghosts had in lieu of simply keeping to his own island; he felt himself above the instinct-driven animals most ghosts were. Him, and only a handful of others.

Even so, those 'others' had zero luck in castigating the feral out of the boy, not even Plasmius; but Skulker had an inkling that the elder halfa's lack of really trying would result in most lost than gained.

Regardless, life was quickly becoming a living Hell when most of the ghosts couldnt even poke their heads out of the man-made portals without fear of having it lopped off. The Zone was becoming too crowded with half-formed shit-ghosts Skulker was growing bored of thinning out, and the fellow ghosts he actually LIKED were getting hurt.

And recently, it became personal.

During the Christmas Truce, of all days, apparently something had put Phantom in a hell of a mood, because when a few ghosts crossed into the mortal world to spread a little cheer and friendly scares to the citizens of Amity Park, the resulting insult to both the Truce and the holiday season reached an all-time low when even Walker didnt dare attempt to incarcerate Phantom after Technus was manually downgraded and Ember nearly lost an eye.

His best friend/mechanic and his girlfriend.

Phantom had crossed the line.

So there Skulker was, sitting in his living room, contemplating his trophies, his weapons, and methods of ending this madness that had been wrought upon them by Phantom.

Point to Consider One: Phantom was a mad dog that needed to be put down, or at very least, caged until civilized even by ghost standards.

Point to Consider Two: Phantom had become too powerful to just barge in and take on head-first and cocksure. That had been attempted before, and he didnt want to wait a week for Technus to build him a new body.

Point to Consider Three: Phantom had reached the psychological level-equivalent of Alpha Wolf. In other words, the most basic of ghost primitive instinct.

Point to Consider Four: Skulker was an expert in dealing with primitive creatures.

Point to Consider Five: Skulker was also an expert in breaking primitive creatures.

His fingers contemplated the knife he had considered using to skin the arrogant halfa, then paused.

Why kill what he could simply break? He would be doing the Ghost Zone a favor doing either, but he would garner more RESPECT if he could break the halfa of his primitive habits.

Not to mention Plasmius would crush his ectoplasmic form underfoot if he killed Phantom.

He put the knife down and walked into the back end of his home, where he kept the skinning room, the pelt-treating room, and most importantly, the collection room. Ghostly animals of rare or Earthly-extinct forms and strange, unusual spectral creatures reacted to his presence in various degrees. Most hissed and yowled at him. A few curiously contemplated him. A tiny handful he could count altogether on one hand made sounds of greeting to him in eagerness to be given attention.

As he hand-fed those few who had grown to trust and obey him, he felt a smirk cross his features.

...Oh yeah.

He could do this.


	2. The Preparation

**The Preparation**

Putting his plan into motion proved to be more difficult than he had previously anticipated.

He had debated between methods of capturing the boy, but every one of them had a fatal flaw. He had one chance at this before Phantom would grow savvy to his plan, and he didnt want to screw it up. He planned, scrapped, and revised for a week before he got a basic idea.

It would end up being like the good ol' days, he thought, smiling to himself with content nostalgia as he made up a list of what he would need for this to work. Sure some ectoplasm and blood would be shed, but you have to give blood to make blood.

First things first. Visit Plamsius.

* * *

Honestly, with the threat of the territorial beast of a boy looming over the entirety of Amity Park, Skulker was puzzled over WHY Vlad Masters was still reigning mayor. It was basically the same power play equivalent of Prince Aragon walking up to Pariah Dark and claiming the Crown for his own.

In other words, a dumbfuck move.

Nevertheless, he kept his opinions to himself as he helped himself to the massive stores of toys and equipment Plasmius had to offer. The mayor had quickly granted his permission to rifle as the mech pleased, considering he had a petition to look over that would grant him jurisdiction over the Fenton Portal's operations.

That only made Skulker quicken up his pace in locating what he needed.

After two hours of rummaging around useless gadgets, he was close to giving up and asking a commission from Technus when he finally found it.

Grinning manically to himself, crowing internally at his good fortune, Skulker pocketed the device and hopped back into the portal.

One errand down.

* * *

Back in his own island, Skulker carefully filled several darts with a special homemade tranquilizer of his own design. Most ghost tranquilizers were useless against mortals, and mortal tranquilizers passed in through one side and out the other in ghosts. This solution would knock both sides of the boy out cold.

It was incredibly tricky to make, considering it contained both mortal and ghost solutions; the right balance was difficult to attain without the solution falling apart and separating, so in the time slot he allowed himself, he only had enough for four darts.

It was more than enough if he managed to get the shot right.

He loaded his tranquilizer gun with the darts and mounted the scope, put it safely on the table to grab when ready, then slipped into his living area to make sure everything was prepared.

It was.

Feeling the excitement of anticipation of the hunt rise in his core, Skulker slipped out of his house and into the island, blowing a silent whistle he kept on him. Bounding through the foliage came an enormous monstrosity of a dog; Kujo, the boy had called him.

But in recent times, Phantom had been neglecting the puppy, and Skulker, in order to keep Walker from incarcerating and putting him down, had unofficially adopted the dog, giving him a home as a guard animal on his island.

He smiled and scratched the dog behind the ears, tossing him the carcass of some ghostly beast he had killed earlier for Kujo to eat.

"I've got a job for you, Kujo," he said, hooking a transporter to the puppy's collar for both safety and diversion; no need for the dog to get hurt because of Phantom's temper before Kujo had done his job. "We're gonna go find Phantom."

Kujo looked up from crunching on a bone, his ears perked at the mention of the boy he had claimed as his 'master', eager for a chance to play with someone who had been ignoring him. Skulker scratched the dog behind the ears and held up a ball.

"Let's go play, then."


	3. The Prey and the Hunter

**The Prey and the Hunter**

* * *

Danny Fenton had changed.

Everyone knew it, from his family to his friends, and nobody knew why.

It began last year, that much everyone could gather. Almost overnight, Danny's temper would soar and explode over the littlest of things, from someone bumping into him in the hallway to his mother going into his room to put his clothes away.

He would scream at his sister to stop psychoanalyzing him and send her off in tears. His jealousy issues over Sam caused a boy being friendly to be sent to the nurse's office with a bloody and broken nose. Tucker rarely talked about anything technology-related after Danny had violently compared him to Technus and smashed his PDA against the wall.

It took longer for those outside of friends and family to get the message. It took Dash an ass-kicking, Lancer a berating about lack of real teaching skills, Valerie a spiteful message to get over her babyish vendetta against ghosts before they kept their distance entirely.

For Vlad, on the other hand, it took a ghost scrap that consisted of almost animal-like biting and clawing that resulted in a scarred and almost-frostbitten back before he backed down. Phantom had proclaimed Amity Park as his territory, and it was Vlad who left that fight scarred. Although not one to engage in such primitive displays ghosts regularly did, Vlad DID know what such an altercation conveyed. He had hit his peak of power some time ago, but Phantom was only getting stronger; and quite frankly, Vlad wanted to live to see his fiftieth birthday.

He rarely engaged Danny as Plasmius nowadays, but it didnt stop the territorial pissing match. To Phantom, Plasmius remained in Amity Park, and was therefore a threat. At least as long as he kept to his job and his home, he was safe from the boy's wrath. It was humiliating, but Vlad had a sense of self-preservation if anything.

But even through that sense of self-preservation and willingness to bow to defeat of a sixteen-year-old child, he still carried a sense of duty to the other ghosts, who had demanded Phantom stopped. He strongly advised against engaging Phantom in combat for the sake of their own afterlives, and asked that if they MUST slip out of the Ghost Zone, to use his own portal instead of the one at Fenton Works. He desperately hoped it was just a phase Danny was going through, and that he would grow out of it, but for the time being, he didnt want anymore shedding of ectoplasm than absolutely necessary.

* * *

As for Danny himself, it was as though there WAS not problem at all.

The basic, primitive ghostly instincts inside of him completely overrode common human sense; this had simply become the norm.

He was ENTITLED to Amity Park. It was HIS domain. He was WELL within his rights to beat the shit out of any other ghost who trespassed.

His friends and family didnt understand. They werent like him at all, so how could they? And in any case, it didnt matter what they thought. Since he had put them in their place, his life had become ten times easier. He slept without disturbance, nobody dared bother him anymore, and those that did were quickly dispatched. Valerie learned not to mess with him after he put her in the hospital for the third time. Hell, even Vlad didnt have the balls to mess with him anymore.

It felt good to be the king of his domain. It really did.

Tonight was a good night to fly about and do his rounds; partly for enjoyment, mostly to make sure that the other ghosts werent soiling Amity Park with their presence. He transformed and took off out of his window, letting the night breeze brush through his shoulder-length silvery locks.

He quite enjoyed quiet evenings such as this, when he didnt have to ruin a good mood by getting angry. It was always such a buzzkll when someone started something they begged he wouldnt finish-

A white wisp escaped his lips in the park, and he froze midair.

Yes, something like THAT.

NOW he was pissed.

"Come on out!" he called, growling. "Dont make it harder on yourself by hiding! I'll find you anyw-!"

He was cut off when a VERY large ghostly dog tackled him out of the air and to the ground, licking his face happily. Phantom sputtered through the ectoplasmic drool and shoved the overgrown puppy off of him. "Kujo?" He frowned. "I thought I put you back in the Zone." Kujo replied by re-sizing down into his small puppy form, his rear-end dancing from all the happy tail-wagging. Phantom sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose, then made a face when more saliva stuck to his fingertips. "Look buddy, I'm not in the mood for play, so let's get you back into the Ghost Zone-HEY!"

As he bent down to pick the puppy up, Kujo suddenly bolted off into the park, barking like mad. Phantom felt a twitch appear over his left eye; he was tempted to just let the puppy go, but he knew Valerie would liquefy Kujo out of spite, if anything. "Kujo, get back here!" he called, running after the puppy.

It proved to be more difficult than he had thought; Kujo would let Phantom get just out of reach before bolting off again, and since the puppy was one of THE only ghosts Phantom actually felt affection for, he wasnt going to risk harming the puppy just to catch him. Still, the puppy's antics quickly wore down on Phantom's nerves.

"Damn it, Kujo!" he shouted after the umpteenth capture attempt went awry. "Heel!" Kujo just barked at him and wagged his tail, sitting down in the middle of the park's wooded area. Phantom scowled and marched over, completely unaware of the third party hidden in silence a short distance away.

Skulker didnt make so much as a rustle as he caught Phantom in his scope and slowly followed his every movement; his finger poised over the trigger until Phantom bent down to pick Kujo up again and the perfect shot was seen-

The tranquilizer gun made but a whisper of a sound, and Phantom let out a yelp of pain when something embedded itself between his ribs on his side. He looked down and saw a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his suit, the needle caught perfectly between his ribs, and felt a spike of rage as he yanked the dart out.

HOW many times did Valerie, his parents, or any other ghost hunters have to pull this stunt before they realized tranquilizers didnt WORK on him?! He whipped around to start up an ass-kicking, but a rush of vertigo hit him and he stumbled in place, barely managing to keep his footing.

What was going on? Tranquilizers didnt work on him, ghost OR human! This wasnt right... Another rush hit him, stronger than before, and he felt the world spin topsy-turvy as the ground was pulled out from under him. He was vaguely aware of dropping to the grassy ground with a gentle 'thud' before his world went black.

Skulker grinned and stood up from his hiding spot, walking over to Phantom's unconscious form which was being fretted over by Kujo. "Dont worry, boy," Skulker said, kneeling down to look Phantom over. "He's just sleeping." He gave Kujo a pat on the head before using his thumb to pull up Phantom's eyelid.

Oh yeah. Definitely out cold. And if his estimates were correct, he had a couple hours to finish his preparations. He picked Phantom up and slung him over his shoulder before quickly heading back to Plasmius' portal, Kujo on his heels.

The adrenaline rush of his plan actually WORKING made the trip seem like mere seconds, but still Skulker wasted no time in carrying Phantom into his house and setting him down on his worktable. He began pulling off the boy's suit, pleased that the halfa's boost in power allowed him to remain in ghost form, even in sleep or unconsciousness, and deposited it into a safebox. No need for his plan to be prematurely ruined by someone finding it by accident.

He turned and picked up the device he had procured from Vlad's earlier in the week-a power-suppressing collar. When put on a ghost, it would be as though they were mortal again. No powers, not even the most basic of ghost powers such as flight, invisibility or intangibility. On Phantom, it would keep him from transforming either way, as well as suppressing his powers.

Skulker had an inkling Vlad wanted to use this on Phantom, but honestly, even those neglectful parents of his would notice their son wearing a large black collar.

But now there were no parents, no Vlad, no ANYBODY to notice or stop anything.

He clipped the collar around Phantom's neck and locked it using his own ghost signature, one of the most secure of locking methods. He and ONLY he would be able to take it off.

He stepped back for a moment to admire his work; Phantom was unconscious, powerless, and completely at his mercy.

Ready and waiting to be broken.


	4. Captivity

**Captivity**

* * *

Danny shifted slightly as he came back to the land of the conscious, his head feeling light as air and heavy as lead at the same time. He was vaguely aware that he was lying on a cold, hard surface, which felt even colder due to the fact he couldnt feel his suit. He numbly raised his hand and felt his abdomen over; yes, his suit was missing. All he was wearing was his light tank top and his boxers.

...that very fact gave him all sorts of morbid scenarios, none of them exactly comforting.

He suddenly shot up, recalling what he last remembered; he was in the park, chasing Kujo, and he had been shot by a tranquilizer dart, one that actually WORKED. NOW where was he?! He made a move to stand up, only to bash his head on a solid surface, bringing stars to his vision. He sat back down, a hand covering his bruised skull.

"The fuck is going on!?" he demanded to no one in particular.

"Language, boy."

The familiar baritone made Danny freeze. _Skulker_. "Skulker?" he asked, rubbing his head, just in case he was hallucinating from the head injury. Low, amused laughter was his response.

"The one and only." Skulker stepped up and knelt down in front of Danny. "Took you long enough to wake up."

Danny snarled, his ghost-induced temper spiking as he made a lunge for Skulker, only be held back by bars -wait, WHAT?! He managed to force himself lucid enough to finally gather his surroundings, and what he saw only made his temper spike again.

He was in a cage.

Skulker was on the other side of the bars, smiling at him with amusement. "Temper, Phantom," he said, waving a finger in playful chastisement, something that only flared more homicidal fury in the halfa's eyes as he shrieked and pulled at the bars with his hands, obviously trying to freeze them, break them, or at very least phase through them.

All to no avail.

Skulker just sat there, just out of reach of the furthest Danny's fingertips could claw at, until the halfa finally realized he wasnt getting out. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!" Danny demanded again.

"You cant get out," Skulker replied bluntly. "No teleportation, no intangibility, no ice, no Ghostly Wail, no NOTHING." He grinned at the panicked fire in Danny's eyes, and tapped at his own neck. "No powers at all."

Danny's hands fumbled around his neck and found the collar, and wasted no time in trying to wrench it off his neck. Several failed attempts later, he threw himself at the bars again, rattling them violently. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH!?" he raged. "I SWEAR TO GOD WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE-!"

Skulker reached through the bars and grabbed Danny's collar-encased throat, pulling back until Danny's face was pressed against the bars. "You'll WHAT, boy?" he asked, his calm voice being betrayed by the extra glow in his green eyes. "You'll WHAT? In case you havent NOTICED, you're POWERLESS. If I wanted, I could crush your skull with one hand and you could do NOTHING about it!" He shoved Danny to the other end of the cage, sitting back.

"And how DARE you attempt a power play in MY domain?!" he continued. "You're not in Amity Park anymore. You're on my island. You're MY property, at MY mercy, and if you want ANY of MY MERCY, you will hold your tongue!"

As expected, Danny only threw himself against the bars again, pulling at them with all his might. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" he screamed. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU! I'LL KILL YOU!"

"News flash, I'm already DEAD." Skulker stood up and kicked between the bars, his boot catching Danny right in the solar plexus. Danny froze for a moment, the almost-forgotten sense of pain crashing into him before he curled up on himself, gasping for air he didnt even need. Skulker stared down at the halfa until the gasps of pain ebbed slightly. "You get it now, Phantom? No powers. At ALL. And if you ever want a day to go by that you're NOT in pain, you'll HOLD YOUR TONGUE."

Danny lifted his head, his green eyes aflame with hatred. "...fuck...you...!" he bit out, spitting between the bars on Skulker's boots. Skulker's eyes narrowed.

"As you wish."

In one quick move, he phased through the top of the solid top of the cage and grabbed Danny by the back of the neck, turning him intangible before yanking him straight out and bending him over the cage. Danny let out a hiss of pain when the edge of the cage hit his bruised abdomen, and began jerking around.

"The fuck are you DOING!?" he demanded. Skulker growled and grabbed his head, slamming it down on the top of the cage, once more bringing stars to Danny's vision.

"What you wanted," he replied, jerking Danny's boxers down.

"WHAT!?" Danny jerked around harder, unable to free his head from Skulker's grip. Skulker kneed Danny's thighs apart.

"Fucking you." With that, he jammed his gloved finger up into Danny's ass without any warning. Danny screamed and thrashed around, clawing at Skulker's metal arm to get him to let go.

"NO!" he screeched, trying to shift out of Skulker's reach to no avail. He screamed again when Skulker forced a second finger into him. "NO, FUCK, LET ME GO! STOP IT! _STOP IT!_"

Skulker's fingers stilled for a moment. "Say 'please'."

"WHAT!?" Danny gasped, stunned at the sudden demand, then shrieked again when Skulker's fingers curled hard.

"Say 'please'," Skulker repeated. "Say 'please, Master, stop', and I'll stop." The muscles tensing on Danny's back became a dead givaway as to the answer.

"FUCK YOU!" Danny screamed, his fists slamming on the top of the cage. "YOU'RE NOT MY FUCKING MASTER! LET ME GO RIGHT NOW!"

Skulker growled and forced a third finger into Danny, feeling a slight slick wetness of blood and ectoplasm accompanied by Danny's agonized screams. "Have it your way," he said, thrusting his fingers in and out of Danny, taking no consideration of the impudent boy's screams. "You brought this on yourself."

Danny was gasping for air between screams not long later, his throat raw. His pride was swearing vows of revenge against Skulker, completely ignoring the smaller, meeker voice that was screaming for Danny to JUST SAY IT to end the pain. Skulker guessed the mental process and knew Danny wasnt anywhere NEAR being broken yet.

No matter, he thought. He had all the time in the afterlife.

He finally pulled his fingers out of Danny, looking expressionlessly at the green and red stain on Danny's thighs. There was also no hurry, he figured. He wanted the boy's arrogant spirit broken, not his body, not so soon, at least. With a push and a transfer of intangibility power, Danny was thrust back into the cage.

Skulker waited until Danny caught his eye, and stared at him with the same unwavering resolve he used when staring down ALL of his animals. "Mark my words," he said slowly and deliberately, "you WILL be broken, boy. And I'll enjoy every minute of it." He smiled and stood up, walking out of the room, leaving Danny to his own devices, shutting the door to block out the screams and curses thrown his way.


	5. The Hand That Feeds

**The Hand that Feeds**

* * *

Skulker didnt enter the room again until the next day, when he had to feed the boy. The one downside to this breaking plan of his was the fact that as a halfa, Phantom still needed food and drink. However, as a silver lining, these things could be used as rewards and taken as punishment.

Today, he would see how things progressed.

He stepped into the room and saw Danny sitting in a corner of the cage, still looking mutinous and angry. No improvement THERE. Danny's eyes flicked up to Skulker when the mech entered the room, and flared with hatred. "You wont keep me here for long," he hissed. "When my friends find out I'm gone-"

"WHAT friends?" Skulker snorted, stepping in front of the cage. At the boy's indignant expression, he elaborated, "I've been watching you, boy, and from what I witnessed, you've effectively ELIMINATED all 'friends' from your life with your shitty attitude. No one's coming for you, get used to it." He held up two bowls, one with a mix of bread and a rough stew he'd made from whatever animal he happened to hunt on his island; it was simple, but he recalled it being filling when he was alive. In the other was water.

Danny opened his mouth, probably to tell him where to stick the bowls, but was cut off by the sound of his stomach growling hungrily. Skulker smirked at the flush of humiliation that crossed Phantom's face, and set the bowls down in front of the cage. The food Phantom could pick out through the bars; the water could only be reached if he brought the edge of the bowl between the bars and tipped it. However, Skulker wanted to know how Phantom would react.

Phantom only glared at Skulker; he wouldnt give his captor the satisfaction of seeing him eat. He WOULDNT. Skulker smirked, already knowing this would happen, and sat back in a chair to watch.

"Go on," he said. "I wont starve you. It's not poisoned. I want you ALIVE. ...in a manner of speaking."

Danny's glare didnt waver; in fact it only intensified when his stomach growled again once he SMELLED the food, which DID smell really appetizing, come to find out. _'Bastard,'_ he thought, keeping his jaw clenched and refusing to move toward it.

Skulker smiled; just as he'd thought. Alpha-male pride getting in the way of the needs of the body. Well. He could wait. He tented his fingers and continued to watch Phantom like the rare fascinating specimen he was, much to said specimen's chagrin. After five minutes the halfa began to have trouble ignoring his presence. After fifteen he was visibly twitching in want of the food. After a half-hour, he finally snapped.

"STOP WATCHING ME LIKE I'M ONE OF YOUR FUCKING ANIMALS!" he shouted. Skulker grinned.

"I'm not doing anything," he said, splaying his empty hands as though making a point. "You're free to eat as you want. What's stopping you?"

"STOP WATCHING ME!" Phantom's face was flushed with humiliation and rage.

"Do you WANT to eat?" Skulker asked, crossing his arms. Phantom growled, baring his teeth.

"I dont want ANYTHING from you other than to be let go!" he snapped. Skulker shrugged and stood up, walking over to the bowls and picking them up, taking them away and noticing a spark of regret in Phantom's eyes.

"Fine," he said indifferently. "You wont eat unless you ASK to be fed, if you want it that way." Without waiting for a response, he walked out of the room, shutting the door right as Phantom started up another tantrum in his cage.

* * *

He reappeared later that night to find Phantom sitting back in his corner, his arms crossed over his stomach, the halfa's expression twisted into one of hunger and desire for food or water. Skulker walked in and phased a bowl of water into the cage, but no food, noting Phantom's body twitch for it.

"You'll get food when you ASK for it," he reiterated before walking out, pausing in front of the door after it closed and HEARD Phantom slurping and guzzling the water down. Internally, he smirked. Phantom hadnt waited to see if he would come back in. He'd ask soon, he was sure of it.

* * *

'Soon' had a different meaning in hunter-speak. Skulker was incredibly patient when it came to the hunt. He could wait for hours, days, even, for the perfect shot at prey if need be. And 'soon' for Phantom turned out to be two days later, after he came in to bring in one of the three bowls of water he gave Phantom throughout the day to keep him alive.

After he set the bowl down in the cage and turned to leave, he heard Phantom shift over, but not to the bowl.

"Skulker."

Skulker paused, hiding his smirk of success. He glanced back and saw Phantom clenching the bars of his cage, his knuckles white from the effort it took to force the words out of his mouth. "...I'm going to starve..." he began, a loud growl of the stomach accompanying the statement. "I need food."

Skulker rolled his shoulders almost carelessly. "I know you NEED food, Phantom," he said. "But do you WANT it?" He heard Phantom's knuckles crack slightly as he gripped the bars tighter.

"...yes."

Skulker turned around, crossing his arms. "...well?" he said. Phantom scowled.

"'Well', what?"

"I SAID, if you wanted food, you ASK for it." He tapped his finger against his arm. "ASK me for food." An audible growl resonated in Phantom's throat.

"...Can I have food?"

Knowing it took Phantom a lot to say that, but still wanting to see just how far the issue could be pushed, Skulker allowed a smirk to cross his features. "I dont know," he said, reveling in being the smartass for once. "CAN you?"

"GOD FUCKING DAMN IT!" Danny rattled the bars of his cage violently. "I WANT FOOD! GIVE ME FOOD! I'M GOING TO FUCKING STARVE, YOU SON OF A-" He was cut off when Skulker's hand grabbed his neck, the collar keeping him from choking, but it still hurt.

"HOW hard is it to ASK for food, boy?!" Skulker hissed. "'May I have food, please'. That's ALL you have to say! FIVE DAMN SYLLABLES!" He threw Phantom to the other end of the cage with a flick of his wrist. "And no. You CAN not." He stalked out, cutting off Phantom's howls of rage and hunger.

* * *

Skulker returned the following morning to find the water bowl empty and Phantom curled up on his side in his corner. Without a word, Skulker switched out the empty bowl for a full one and turned to leave.

"Skulker."

He turned around, Phantom still lying curled with his back to him. When Phantom didnt hear Skulker leave, he spoke again. "...May I have food...please."

Skulker grinned and left the room, returning a few minutes later with a bowl of food, slipping it in next to the water before leaving.

Skulker: 1, Phantom: 0.

Success.


	6. Bargaining

_**I realize how long it's been, but I'm back now! Not dead, dont worry! **_

* * *

**Bargaining**

Skulker had no illusions that simply because the boy bit down pride to ask for food, he was making progress. Any wild animal can sit down for food and then tear your face off as soon as it's fed. Either way, he still had plenty of will-breaking activities to choose from, and it would be very disappointing if the boy was broken simply because of food or lack thereof.

He walked into the cage room with Phantom's food for the day, pleased to notice the boy looking up expectantly, sitting up from his little corner of the cage. He set the food down in the cage and stood back to watch as Phantom ate it. It didnt take long, but Phantom still looked edgy as to why Skulker was still there even after he ate.

"...what?" Phantom demanded, the hard edge coming back into his voice. Skulker only crossed his arms.

"You havent thanked me for the food yet," he said. At Phantom's comically-incredulous look, he elaborated, "I provide you with food, and you dont even thank me. How rude."

Comically-incredulous turned into comically-infuriated in .2 seconds flat. "FUCK YOU!" Phantom screamed, throwing the food and water bowls against the bars of the cage. "YOU FUCKING KIDNAPPED ME AND STICK ME IN THIS CAGE LIKE AN ANIMAL! HOW THE FUCK SHOULD I _THANK_ YOU FOR THA-" His rant was cut short when Skulker reached into the cage and turned Phantom intangible to pull him out.

"By showing some goddamn gratitude, boy!" Skulker snarled, pinning Phantom to the top of the cage. "I feed you, dont I? I keep your human half ALIVE, dont I?!" He snapped his wrist, a blade flipping out. "Would you rather I skin you alive!? Cut your limbs off!? Paralyze you!?"

"NO!" Phantom's voice was a mix of panic and rage; Skulker was pleased to hear the panic overrode the rage this time. "Let me GO!"

"No," Skulker said. "Now, are you going to thank me for giving you food and water?"

"NO!" Phantom screamed again, struggling hard. "I HATE YOU! YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME! I'M NOT A FUCKING ANIMAL!"

"Well you're not acting like a fucking HUMAN, that much is for sure!" Skulker shot back, slamming Phantom's head into the top of the cage. "No manners, no common courtesy, no NOTHING."

Phantom struggled harder through the haze of having his head bashed into the metal. "I'M NOT AN ANIMAL! STOP IT! LET ME GO!"

Seeing how Phantom wasnt going to back down anytime soon, possible concussion be damned, Skulker decided that enough was enough for today. If Phantom wanted to play this game, he'd play. "How's about a deal here, Phantom," he said, keeping the boy's head firmly in place. "I'll put you on a ten-point system. For every day you act like a decent human being, I'll add one point." His fingers clenched around Phantom's skull, letting him know he'd better be paying attention.

"But for every TIME you act like some ill-bred animal, I take TWO days back, and for the rest of those days, you're my pet in any and all ways I deem fit." He smirked, sensing a tantrum rising from the boy. "It's the only deal I'm making, boy, you'd better take it, if you want out of here." With a push of intangibility, he shoved Phantom back into the cage. "I'll give you an hour to think about it." He walked out of the room, hearing that tantrum he had predicted rage full-force behind him.

* * *

Skulker could hardly wait the whole hour before he went back into the room again, not even trying to contain the smirk on his face when he saw Phantom sulking in the corner of the cage, his hands and arms bruised from beating against the bars. Phantom tensed when he heard Skulker walk in, but did nothing else.

"Well?" Skulker asked, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. "Thought about the deal?"

Phantom shifted his eyes to Skulker, glowering with utter loathing, but the glowing green eyes had the bright spark of a challenge in them, and Skulker knew he had won.

"Fine," Phantom spat. "I accept your challenge, you stupid robot."

Skulker smirked at him. "Fine," he retorted. "We start now. You havent eaten, so ask me nicely for food."

The visible bristling Phantom gave off almost made him laugh out loud, but to his credit, Phantom bit back the 'fuck you' Skulker knew was on the tip of his tongue. "...May I PLEASE have some food?" Phantom said through his clenched teeth.

Skulker shrugged. "Of course," he replied. As he turned to leave, he said over his shoulder, "Oh, and two days back for calling me a 'stupid robot'."

The howl of absolute rage from behind him would lull his dreams for days to come.

* * *

**It's a shorty, but I'll have more up soon!**


	7. The Negatives

**The Negatives**

Skulker sat in his living room nursing a tumbler of ectohol, in a fantastic mood, absently wondering how long Phantom would last in this endeavor of his. Day one, and already Phantom was in the negatives; even if he DID behave himself until the quota was met, that was still twelve days.

Inwardly, he snorted. Phantom wouldnt last that long. He was still too much a wild little beast with a LOT of taming to do.

Not that it mattered; Skulker had all the time in the afterlife to break the boy out of those disgusting little habits.

Still, it was incredibly exciting to think of all the ways Phantom could play out as his pet; arousing, even.

Yes, if the boy wanted to be free, he would have to do anything and everything Skulker told him to.

Finishing off the tumbler, Skulker grinned.

This was going to be a lot more fun than he had anticipated.

* * *

In his cage, Phantom was curled up in the corner, his hands and arms bruised and his throat sore from all the screaming and hitting at the metal bars he had done after the dick move Skulker had pulled with subtracting days before he'd even started.

He growled, his eyes ablaze with rage; the moment he was free from this fucking collar, that robot was scrap metal and that chunk of ectoplasmic material that made him up was going to be a stain on the floor by the time he was done. This was absolutely degrading!

He didnt deserve this! Skulker made it sound like he was being punished for being some sort of demon! Hadnt the bucket of bolts ever heard of puberty? And even so, on the ghost end of things, Amity Park was HIS domain! He had claimed it, and nobody was contesting it, not even Plasmius anymore.

If the middle-aged halfa could figure it out, then it shouldnt have been THAT difficult for the others to either.

Phantom growled louder, his nails digging into his forearms. This was just a sick game to Skulker. The robot thrived on games and hunting. Fine, he resolved. He'd play the game for now, and then Skulker would regret even having the NOTION to fuck with him to begin with.

His jaw clenched when he heard Skulker walk in, and looked up with hard resolve, which crumbled slightly into a gaped mouth when he saw that Skulker was holding up a chain leash.

_'Oh...FUCK...no.'_ The words ALMOST slipped out of his mouth, but Skulker just gave him a knowing smirk and waved the chain to and fro, DARING him to say something.

"I thought I'd let you stretch your legs a little," Skulker quipped, still waving the chain. "Arent I a good Master to let you out for awhile?"

If Phantom were any angrier, steam would be coming out of his ears, an astounding feat for one with an Ice affinity. But true to his own resolve, Phantom resisted the urge to hurl every verbal assault in his repertoire, and instead channeled all of his inner hatred into glaring at Skulker.

Skulker grinned, knowing he just won this round, and turned his arm intangible, pulling Phantom out and hooking the chain onto the collar. "We're going to go get you some fresh air," he said, his tone akin to that of someone speaking to a puppy. "Behave yourself." He walked out of the room, Phantom trailing behind, the halfa leaving as much room as he possibly could between them.

Although pissed off beyond belief, Phantom kept his head down and mouth shut as he was walked out of the room and through Skulker's compound. He turned his head minutely to glance around, having never been on the inside of the compound before, let alone on the island. It was mostly decorated in some odd Neo-rustic style, metal mixing with animal pelts and trophies; tacky, but it fit the Bucket-o-Bolts enough.

The jerking tug on the chain almost made Phantom stumble, and he realized he had been faltering behind. Biting back profane insults, Phantom forced his jaw shut and picked up the pace as Skulker led the way out of the compound and out into the open jungle of the island.

Phantom had to admit, the air was fresh, if not a bit heavy from all the jungle foliage. But what was more, he was out of the compound and in open air, and the urge to make a break for it was so overwhelming, his body actually twitched before he got a hold of himself.

He couldnt fly.

He couldnt use any of his powers.

And he couldnt go on foot; this was Skulker's domain, and he would catch up in no time and throw him right back into that damned cage for God-only-knew how long.

The very thought made the all-too-familiar rage course its way into Phantom's veins, clouding his better judgement; and in an instant, that clouded judgement cost him as he dove at Skulker and started hitting at the metal body out of nowhere, screaming incoherent nonsense.

Skulker was taken aback for a moment at the suddenness of the attack, but he recovered quickly enough to grab Phantom by the hair and jerk downward, pinning Phantom's head to the ground. "Are you a GLUTTON for punishment boy, or just stupid?" he snarled, keeping a hard pressure on Phantom's head. "Two more days as my pet!" He pulled Phantom up by the hair to look him in the eye. "Care to make it two more?"

Instant regret of his actions dissolved the rage, and Phantom had just enough good sense to say and do nothing. Skulker dropped the halfa with a snort of distaste, then stalked right back into the compound, not giving Phantom time to stand as he was dragged in by the chain leash. Once they were back into the holding room, Skulker shoved an intangible Phantom into the cage and pulled the chain back into his hand.

"Four days in the negatives," he sneered cruelly down at the halfa. "At this rate, by the time you're done being my pet, you'll WANT to be." With that, he turned on heel and stalked out of the room, leaving Phantom to scream in self-loathing anguish.


	8. Taking the Bait

**Taking the Bait  
**

Skulker didnt see Phantom again until feeding time. When he walked in the next morning with more food and water, Phantom was curled up in the corner of the cage, his arms and scalp covered in ectoblood-encrusted scratches, made even more obvious from the dried ectoblood under the boy's nails.

Typical captive animal behavior. If they couldnt scratch and bite at their captor, they scratched and bit themselves. If only the halfa truly could see how primal he had become...oh well.

Skulker slipped the food into the cage and sat back to watch, thoroughly intrigued by this point.

Phantom had tensed when he came in, and only the faint glow of green eyes behind the matted white hair let Skulker know he was looking at the mech. The tensing didnt let up even after the food was put down, and certainly didnt let up when Skulker didnt leave.

Infinite patience or not, simply WATCHING the halfa doing nothing was sure to get boring quickly, so Skulker spoke up. "Eat." When Phantom didnt move, Skulker just gave him a look and crossed his arms. "Should we add two more days to the negatives?"

Skulker smirked when the bait was taken, and Phantom quickly uncurled and slipped over to the bowls, picking the one with the food up. "No," Skulker said sharply, almost making Phantom drop the bowl. "The Negative days are punishments. You've lost the right to eat like a human." He bit back a laugh at the look on Phantom's face. "Eat without using your hands."

The bowl in Phantom's hand jostled with a hard twitch, and Skulker knew that Phantom had JUST barely restrained himself from throwing it. Phantom's jaw twitched as he set the bowl down on the floor with a bit more force than necessary, and with a flush of humiliation, lowered his head to eat right out of the bowl.

It took every ounce of self-control for Skulker not to laugh like a loon at the display, though he desperately wished he had a camera. Oh wait. He DID. He flicked his gaze to the security camera in the corner of the room and made a mental note to get the feeding time recorded on repeat for later.

Taking much longer than relatively necessary to finish the food in the bowl, Phantom finally raised his head, wiping the excess from around his mouth with the back of his hand and sitting back on his heels, humiliation written all over his face and his eyes burning brighter green with hatred, looking slightly more watery than usual.

Frustration. Humiliation. The violent internal battle between sticking the next fourteen days out and breaking early for a sense of satisfaction. All of it was deliciously, tangibly scenting the air. Skulker desperately hoped the boy would screw up again so he could keep that sense of dread palpable for as long as possible.

"Finish your water, and we'll take another try at fresh air," he said as though he were speaking to Kujo instead of a human, turning to leave. "And it had better be gone by the time I get back."

Indeed, the bowl of water was dry when he returned with the chain leash. He smirked and turned the boy intangible, pulling him out and hooking the chain around the nib of the collar. "Good boy."

Phantom gave him a hard glare, but said nothing. Skulker just smiled and lead the way back out of the holding room, through the compound, and out the door into the jungle.

The air was dense today, Phantom noticed. It was more humid than it was last time he was outside, and it seemed to make every odor increase tenfold around them.

A loud metallic hammering sound jerked him back into the present, and Phantom turned to see Skulker hammering a pole into the ground, where he had placed the chain around.

"Funny thing about the humid climate," Skulker said nonchalantly, deftly twirling the hammer in his hand. "You can better smell the animals around you..." His grin grew wicked.

"...but at the same time, they can smell you. And you do smell deliciously exotic, boy." He tossed the hammer aside. "You just sit there and be good bait now...you want some more food to eat later, and I need to kill to feed you." With that, he turned and walked back inside, leaving Phantom alone outside in the clearing that just barely bordered the dense jungle.

Panic set in as Phantom realized Skulker had just taken him outside to be BAIT. For whatever wild creatures were lurking in this jungle.

The sudden realization that he had been eating a stew made of these creatures suddenly made his stomach turn violently. He was to be bait for his own next meal...or BE the next meal. He wouldnt put it past Skulker to just let him be eaten for the entertainment value.

He tried pulling the chain loose from the pole to no avail. He was as weak as a normal human kid here with the stupid collar around his neck. He briefly debated screaming at Skulker to let him go, but the chance he'd be kept here even longer kept him from making more than explicatives and yells of rage when the chain or the collar wouldnt give.

After a couple of hours, he tired himself out, sitting back against the pole. Where even WAS the stupid bucket of bolts? He looked around, but there was no sign of Skulker anywhere. Phantom grumbled darkly, leaning back against the pole again. Fucker was probably laughing his ass off inside.

The humidity was getting almost overbearing for Phantom by this point; he had always depended on his ice powers to cool him down when he got too hot, but now he didnt even have THAT luxury here. He reached up to wipe his sweat-stained hair out of his face when he suddenly caught the scent of something wildly foul.

The closest he could compare to was the dirty end of the lion exhibit at the zoo, only more unrestrained and foul. Grimacing at the stench, he tried to ignore it, but found he couldnt when he heard a heavy rustling sound come from the jungle, heading right for him in the clearing.

Before Phantom could try his hand at yanking the chain loose, the heavy brush at the edge of the clearing parted and...SOMETHING...started to come out.

The closest Phantom could come to describing it would be a manticore...only with two extra limbs and much, MUCH larger teeth. Even Kujo would have major problems taking this thing down, and it was now eying Phantom hungrily, the lips of its maw drawn back to expose nearly all of its teeth, making a lion-like growling sound, only with more hiss behind it.

Phantom was torn between jerking on the chain and remaining as still as he could, hoping to GOD it wouldnt come any closer. That last hope was dashed when the beast sniffed the air and growled louder, its scorpion-like tail curling up in strike position, the muscles beneath the fur tightening.

Fear.

Panic.

Helplessness.

Things Phantom had forgotten how to feel entirely came rushing back in that one instant, freezing him in place as a cold sweat that made him think Vortex had turned the island's climate down about fifty degrees broke out all over his body.

The creature stalked forward, as though seeing that he was too scared to move, and that he would make a quick and easy meal. And how scarily right it was.

The moment the creature's body completely stepped into the clearing, Phantom snapped and panicked. He began pulling at the chain with all his might, screaming bloody murder in the hopes his Ghostly Wail would somehow override the collar around his neck. His hands began to chafe almost immediately, only adding another element of horror to the entire ordeal, and still the creature came closer.

With a roar, the foul beast broke into a run, all six legs's claws out and the scorpion tail poised for a lethal strike, the jaws open wide. Phantom screamed again and covered his head with his arms as the creature made a jump for him.

_**BANG**_

The sound of a gun going off, the sound of flesh being penetrated, and the brief, shrill cry of agony seemed to resonate all at the same time, and a second later, Phantom felt a thick shower of ectoplasm splash over him.

And then all was silent.

After what seemed like forever, Phantom lowered his shaking arms and gagged slightly when he saw that the creature seemed to have been shot right through its open jaws and through the head, of which there was only half left. The beast was twitching violently as its body attempted to register that the brain had been destroyed.

Phantom numbly looked at his arms and front, seeing that it was splashed with not only ectoplasm, but what looked like brain matter. It was all it took for him to turn and vomit up everything he had eaten just hours ago.

"Well what do you know, boy," came Skulker's voice from behind him, "I think I've finally found some use for you."

Phantom looked up from his vomiting to see Skulker leaning casually with his arm against the pole, a large hunting rifle slung over his shoulder, looking at the beast with appreciation. "I havent gotten a manticore THAT big in years. Tricky bastards are a bitch to track down." He gave Phantom a disturbing grin. "I'll have to use you as live bait more often. It gets you fresh air, and me some fantastic game."

Hatred and disbelief pooled into Phantom's eyes, but instead of a scream of rage and a nasty retort, all that came from his mouth was another coalescence of vomit.

* * *

Phantom wasnt even sure when Skulker had practically dragged him back inside, but he never thought he'd miss the chill of the cage's metal against his skin after that disgusting fiasco outside the compound. He WAS aware that Skulker had been generous enough to turn him intangible as so to free his skin from the creature's bodily chunks and fluids, but he was sure it was more for Skulker's convenience than his.

Now all Phantom felt was cold, numb indignation and fury toward the stupid robot for using him as bait. But the events of the day notched down those emotions until all he felt was physical and psychological exhaustion to the point where he didnt even look up when Skulker walked in and put a bowl of water in his cage.

It was several minutes before Phantom realized Skulker hadnt left the room.

Forcing himself to glance up, he saw Skulker grinning down at him.

"How did it feel, boy," the mech said, sounding thoughtful yet somewhat amused, "to feel the helpless terror of being faced with something that could tear you to pieces?"

Phantom's jaw tightened, his fingertips digging into the metal floor of his cage. "What?" he demanded curtly. Skulker's grin broadened.

"It's been said that hunters are often faced with mirror images of themselves when they hunt," Skulker went on. "Some are more noble like the stag. Others are cunning like the fox." He knelt down in front of Phantom's cage, still grinning. "I do enjoy animals...but do you know what I enjoyed hunting the most when I was alive?"

Moments passed, and Phantom knew Skulker wanted a verbal response. "...no," he finally bit out. Skulker chuckled, his green eyes growing brighter.

"Humans."

A soft lump appeared in Phantom's throat, and the coldness crept back into his spine. Skulker went on as though he didnt notice.

"I used to enjoy hunting wolves. Strength. Courage. Leadership. Brotherhood. I embodied these things. But eventually, I enjoyed playing with wolves more than hunting them. I realized that humans made much better trophies than animals. After all, there's absolutely no shortage in supply. I began hunting those who hunted the wolves. And what did I say before? You are what you hunt. So...funnily enough, boy, in a way, I'm more human than you are."

Phantom only gave him a nasty look, the corner of his lip dripping ectoblood from the force of the bite being applied to keep him from exploding.

"But what did YOU face, hm? An inhuman, slaughtering, wild beast that would have thought nothing of tearing you open end devouring what laid inside your ribcage." He let out a bark of laughter. "To be honest, boy, when it came into the clearing, I had trouble deciding which one to shoot." He stood up, shaking his head with amusement. "Food for thought."

With that being said, he turned and left the room.

* * *

**I'm going to try uploading longer chapters, as requested, so patience with me! **


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